Ostello Villa Camerata

The thick foliage blocks much of Florence's skyline, but it also keeps out most city noise, so the nights are quiet. The old, luxurious building gives the whole stay an antique, romantic feel. I was here in 2009 with friends, and we had a great time. The food was great and the rooms were comfortable.

The hostel sits in a wonderful old building with character and a few nice features, but its condition has gone downhill. There was mould and peeling, cracked paint around us, though it looked clean on the surface. Our room was extremely basic, with no en-suite, so we had to use shared bathrooms that were grubby and run down, with mould on the ceilings. I did see someone attempting to clean them. Towels weren't provided; when we offered the advertised €2.50, the receptionist said it wasn't enough, so we gave up. The place is far from the city center. We could take a bus during the day, but at night we had to pay €20 for a taxi, which wasn't convenient. The worst part was being overcharged at reception. When we pointed out the mistake, the receptionist wouldn't acknowledge it and checked all the day's cash transactions to dispute what we said. There was an extra note in the till for exactly the amount we'd been overcharged, but we got no apology or even acknowledgment of the inconvenience. The receptionist had all the charisma of a pine cone. We had a bad stay, and although it was the only accommodation we could find at short notice, I couldn't recommend it. There are better hostels around.

The bathroom situation was awful: they were closed at night, and the women's one was shut most of the day too. Some toilets didn't work or wouldn't lock. We only considered staying here because we needed somewhere in an emergency, or couldn't find a place near Florence where we could park. Our room smelled of chlorine, which might have been a good thing. The villa must once have been beautiful, but now it felt like an institution. The long, isolated road there and the dark bus ride to and from the hostel felt dangerous at night, and we felt very unsafe walking. Staff weren't polite and didn't explain simple things, like that we had to bring the odd little breakfast time paper to get coffee. Such a weird breakfast.

The property is pretty, and being among the trees away from the city was nice if you don't mind a long walk to and from the hostel or campground. But it took 30-40 minutes by bus to reach the city center, and the closest grocery store was a 20-minute walk away. We were there in low season because it was the only campground open, and it wasn't the social hostel we expected. The restaurant and bar were closed, breakfast was just bananas and bread, and the staff were rude and unhelpful. Laundry cost 7 euros. It wasn't a terrible stay, just nothing like we'd expected.